Kelly Clarkson: 'I never set out to become a children's author'

Singer Kelly Clarkson has her husband and nanny to thank for convincing her to turn a travel diary for her daughter into a children's book.

The Because of You star, who is married to music manager Brandon Blackstock, has written River Rose and the Magical Lullaby, which is inspired by her travels with two-year-old River Rose.

Kelly admits the book started as a way for the mother-of-two to document her little girl's globe-trotting adventures, so River could have something to look back on when she's older, but after a little encouragement from Brandon and the couple's childminder, she decided to have it published.

"I didn't plan on it," the 34-year-old told breakfast show Today of her new literary venture. "I wrote them on a plane, coming back from London. We had just been all over the world and she was one, and I was like, 'She's never gonna remember all this!' Her passport is already stocked with stamps (from different countries).

"I started writing these little, short stories for her and had these little pictures for her, and all of a sudden, my nanny and my husband were like, 'You should make these into children's books'."

Kelly had also penned little lullabies to accompany each adventure, and publishing bosses at HarperCollins decided to make use of the star's vocal talent and have her record the tunes for the book's accompanying bonus features, which include a singing doll.

"You get the (digital version of the) lullaby and then there's a doll too," Kelly added. "My little girl, that's her favorite part because I sing in it (sic). You press the little thing (button on the doll) and then I sing the lullaby."

River Rose and the Magical Lullaby hit retailers on Tuesday (04Oct16), and the new children's author is already considering a follow-up in honor of her son Remington, who was born in April (16), remarking, "I'm working on it."

Meanwhile, Kelly has also promised fans her new music will be worth the wait, after landing a new recording deal with Atlantic Records in June (16).

"I feel like a new artist," she said of her latest material. "It's all soulful and urban and edgy and fun, and just stuff I grew up singing, so I'm excited, I can't wait for (fans) to hear it."

Kelly released her last studio album, Piece by Piece, in 2015. It was her final project with Sony Music's RCA Records, the company she signed to after winning talent show American Idol in 2002.